After Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard, many wondered whether the tech giant would follow its current precedent of putting its first-party games on Game Pass on the same day as their official release date. More specifically, this would include Call of Duty, one of the most profitable gaming franchises over the last several years.
Yet, a new report claims that adding new installments in the shooter series to Game Pass continues to be a topic of debate within Xbox as the platform-holder also reportedly weighs another price hike for the service.
The Verge's Tom Warren published a new report today, claiming that Microsoft has "had internal debates" about whether it wants to add newer Call of Duty installments to the gaming subscription service. Warren writes that this debate has been "ongoing internally for quite some time." Those who oppose the idea argue that Call of Duty's revenue for Activision Blizzard (and, by extension, Microsoft) would "be undermined" by a Game Pass release.
More interestingly, Warren writes that Microsoft "has also contemplated" a price hike for the Ultimate tier of Xbox Game Pass. Again, this is up for consideration, and nothing has been finalized, though Warren deduced that it could mean that a future Call of Duty release might appear in "most versions of Game Pass."
Call of Duty as a franchise is undoubtedly one of the most profitable IPs in the gaming industry and has been for quite a while. A few examples of Call of Duty's profitability include in 2022, when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II became the fastest game in the series to cross the $1 billion sold mark, and just last year, as part of the FTC vs. Microsoft trial, we learned through a court document that Call of Duty on PlayStation hardware "directly generated over $800 million" in the United States in 2021.
The announcement comes a little over a day after IGN first reported that Microsoft was shutting down four Bethesda Studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall developer Arkane Austin. However, However, a larger topic is coming to focus on Xbox's strategy for Game Pass. As Warren and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported, although Microsoft's recent earnings revealed that Xbox's content and services (which includes Game Pass) were up by 62%, the growth in that category was due to Activision Blizzard.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
